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746-4120 Why was the proposal made? Well, GM plans to close at least one mid-size car production plant. There are rwe right now - three in the States and two in Oshawa. So, Oshawa workers 'ttstill tt little concerned about their jobs, right? Of the over 14,000 union workers who'could 30w, only 3,402 did. That’s 24 per cent. And the results - 1,747 rejected the plan while M66 agreed with it. - 7 7 And what will happen if the plant closes? More unemploy- ment, more demands, on our social welfare system, and less chance to pull out of this recession. Sometimes we have only ourselves to blame. . Our union/management relationships must become less confrontational Both sides must work together in a spirit of co operation. But, how do you change this overnight? General Motors lost $4.5 billion last year. in an effort to return to profitability, GM announced in December that they would close 21 plants and layoff 74,000 employees over the next fog- years. _ Now, if you ivere the decision maker for GM in Detroit - how would you react to a foreign production facility, with apathetic wquers rho atyt't intercept} in foopetatiotr1 - 7 Well, I have a suggestion - employee shareholder plans for pu_blicl_y owned. oorty?a.nies. - 7 Employees should be encouraged to buy shares in their company. Then, they will have a vested interest iii the eompany'ss success. They too will be working to improve the bottom line - their reward will be continued employment, dig'dends and capital gains. 7 This would also foster a spirit of cooperation between labor and management. After all. labor would be shareholders and management works for the shareholders. Both sides would want the company to be successful and their investments to prosper. Imagihe the success stories that could be told if boih sides worked toward a common goal rather than being suspicious and untrusting of each other. These are drastic measures. There are a lot of jobs at stake and that includes 4,000 jobs at the Oshawa Number 2 plant which has no production scheduled after 1994. That's when the Lugiina and Buick production lines will be transferred to the U. . So what can these employees do to keep their jobs? Well, employees at the Arlington, Texas plant didn't just wait for the axe to fall. They took matters in their own hands. The union members voted and agreed on more flexible work rules. They felt this gave them a leg up on other plants where the work rules maintained the status quo. In February, they escaped the fmt round of cuts. Maybe they saved their jobs temporarily - maybe they saved them for good, More importantly, they showed that cooperation goes a long way. Better to give a little and stay employed in these times than face the unemployment line. That'? the thinking of John Gaines. recently elected chairman of local 222 of the Canadian Auto Workers Union in Oshawa. He put a vote to the membership to increase production flexibility for tale"I 'gt,'t,t, pliant-r Translated, '/gu,',tt,t, t co e vo un overtime i action fellbe ind. tary P Since I can remember, txmfligt has dominated the union/man. agement relationship in the automobile manufacturing indus- try. Strikes, walkouta, lockouta, accusations of poor productivi- ty, taking advantage of workers T we've all heard the stories. V But the' fact is, campanies that lose money don't continue for ttlong. Andylgen tht faftoriet are cloaed,. nopne i? yo.rking, Pattie Moran is a corporate banker in Kitchener. A common goal 545 KING STREET N., WATERLOO (arm trom Conway. mu) 0ND (ch Ml EEC ‘MPION Includes . cloth upholstery . mag wheels - all-season radials Honda Civic CIVIC IM " 72.9 mpg " EPA Highway The Williams' agenda for reduc- ing that risk factor is simple - at Country Choice Meats and Deli they're dedicated to giving "peo ple what they want. "People are looking for a place where they can get quality meat and good service at a reasonable price," Darrell said. "But I feel you have to take a certain amount of risk in life, If we didn't do this, five years from now we would have been saying we wish we would have." When Darrell Williams decided to quit his job of almost 20 years and open his own business, he didn't just, as the saying goes, jump into it feet ftrist, "I wasn't. convinced at first that this was right. I was afraid of giving up 19 years at Dutch Boy - the beneM, and the security," Debbie said, On January 22, Country Choice Meats and Deli opened its doors, and said Debbie, there's no look. ing back for the Williams family. The store's open six days a week (open Sunday and closed Monday) and you'll always find one of the Williams' there. For Darrell, that means regular work weeks of 75 to 80 hours Owning such a shop has long been a dream of Darrell's. For. merly a meat department manag- er with Dutch Boy, he believes that more and more of today's shoppers are becoming dissatis- fied with the quality and service offered by the larger grocery chains. He'd been looking for the right location for rrve or six years when he heard that a meat shop in waterioo was up_for sale. "I had looked at different spots periodically, but didn't have the right opportunity," he said. br T1315 W' the rltrhtopportut1ity/' Actually, he jumped with all 16 feet of his family. Because, in every sense of the word, Wil. liams' Country Choice Meat and Deli, located in the Colonial Acres Plaza on Bridge Street in Wtterloo, is l family' business. On a typical weekend at Coun- try Choice you're likely to see Darrell out back cutting meat, his wife Debbie delivering large or ders, one or more of the Williams' four sons working behind the counter and their two foster chil. dren playing in the store. "This is my family's future," said Darrell, looking around his 1,250-square-foot shop. "This is a family business. People who come in here aren't surprised to be served by a teenager and see yogng ones running around." With that in mind, the Wil. Starting from H.995 l tttt 395 c trom , liams' have sought out a network of small local suppliers to provide the meats, produce and specialty food items that they stock. Their bread is bought from a small Italian bakery in Cambridge, eggs come in from their own farm in Newton or from an Amish farmer they live near and deli items are supplied by Oh So Good Meats m Waterloo. The poultry and pork come directly from local farmers. most beef is shipped in from Calgary, and all three are, Darrell said, chemical-free and freecrattge: Business is a tamuy arm: wma Darrell and Debbie wan-"G Country Choice Meats and Deli. "prom'" the small suppliers you WATERLOO CHRONICLE. WEDNESDAY (pm prop. from ' taxes) "We've no regrets We want tr, do this for our fatally FF So far, their plan seems to be working According to Debblr support from the surrounding meoln Village commumt) ha‘ been "phenomenal" and mm clientele continues to grow mot; week “I thmk most of the peopu max have been HI here have Cnmc back, and that's encouragmg So far, everything'; been very p031 me." said Darrell get that handwn. tender losung care," he sand. “It's not mash-pm duced FF MECHZSJMoPAGEZO